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Anybody else germinate their seeds in sunlight?

Jase4224

Jase4224

As a way to save money by using less electricity I put my seed trays in a 90L/23gal aquarium then placed it up against the window in my shed (no lid during the day or they would boil). They get about four hours of direct sunlight from early morning but I place the aquarium out on the lawn to get sun all day when it's not cloudy.

They still use a heat mat at night since its been cold at night but I'm not using electricity for light and as a bonus my plants never have to be hardened to the sun.

I'm happy with this method and will use it from now on. I got 43/44 seeds (courtesy of jwc10) germinate and all seedlings growing fast.
 
They actually don't need light until they break the surface of the dirt -- just the heat and moisture is all that is needed for germination. - just check on them daily and place in lighted area after they sprout ( Otherwise they will get very leggy quickly if left in the dark as they reach to find a light source.)
 
JDFan said:
They actually don't need light until they break the surface of the dirt -- just the heat and moisture is all that is needed for germination. - just check on them daily and place in lighted area after they sprout ( Otherwise they will get very leggy quickly if left in the dark as they reach to find a light source.)
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Never had any problems germinating seed, however I've always used artificial light in the past once they begin sprouting.. then had to slowly harden them to the sun which imo is a pain in the butt and can stress the plants. I've found that by germinating into the sunlight they are growing faster and sun hardened which means when temps outside are warm enough they go straight out.

As for not needing light until they germinate.. kind of goes without saying.
CAPCOM said:
No. It is about 10° out when I sow seed.
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Yeah it's been cold here too, but when they are insulated and on a heat mat it doesn't matter too much.
 
It's perfectly fine if the weather permits. A small greenhouse is the easiest way to extend the season.
Very slow growing / long ripening varieties though need a very early start and decent temps to grow faster that's why artificial lightning helps so much. January start in a greenhouse is not an option without additional lighting/heating...

Datil
 
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